LED Light Benefits for Stadiums
Lower Maintenance Costs with LED
They Help Teams to Cut Down Energy Costs
If we were to use sports terms to describe the energy-efficiency of LEDs, we would say that they are a slam dunk. This is because they generate more light while consuming less electricity. But perhaps the major reason why LED stadium lights have gotten so popular in a very short time is because of the savings they offer teams, clubs, and owners of sports venues.
Metal halides have a life expectancy of 12,000 - 20,000 hours while LEDs have a rated life of 50,000 - 100,000 hours. Since LEDs last much longer than metal halide lamps, they are perfect for use in stadiums. They are also very well-built and require very little maintenance during their lifetimes.
LED lights can reduce energy consumption by as much as 90% if they are used together with lighting controls that ensure stadium lights are on only when they need to be on. And if the lights are not used continuously every day of the week, their life expectancy goes up.
UV IR Rating
Safer for People
As we earlier said, metal halide lamps produce UV radiation which can be very harmful to humans.
LEDs do not produce any UV radiation and don't contain any hazardous components. They only convert 5% of the electricity they draw into heat, which means they don't produce excessive heat. The light fixtures contain heat sinks that absorb and dissipate excessive heat into the environment. They have the ability to withstand extreme temperatures, shock, vibration, and all types of weather conditions and are perfect for outdoor sports arenas.
LED Optics
Perfect for Broadcasting
Metal halide lights may provide sufficient lighting to stadiums and sports arenas, but they were never built with today's TV broadcasts in mind. The thing is, a camera does not see light the way a human eye sees it. Modern cameras pick up some spectrums of blue, green, and red and mix these colors to create digital broadcasting.
Lighting that works perfectly for fans who are in the stands will not work for fans who are watching the game from home. Ultra-high definition (HD) which is the home version of 4K cinema, was recently introduced. But most sports venues can't broadcast in ultra HD, even if their current lighting is supplemented. The lighting systems used in these venues cannot work with 4K or 8K broadcasts, which is where TV broadcasting is at the moment. This is another reason why stadiums and sports arenas must embrace LED technology.
Another big advantage of LEDs is that they don't flicker. This means that they won't affect slow motion replays with a distracting, flashing effect. LED lighting that is built for broadcasting is what humans have been waiting for.
Glare Image
They Improve the Game
LED lights not only improve the game for the spectators, they also improve it for the players. When LED lights were installed at a race track in America, the drivers started saying that the light was uniform and that glare had been significantly reduced. Precise pole and fixture placement and advanced lenses ensure that drivers have the best visibility as they drive around the racetrack.
When LED lights are installed in a hockey rink or a baseball field, they provide uniform light which helps the players to see the speed of the hockey puck or the baseball. If metal halide lights are used in these spaces, they create bright spots and dark spots. As the ball travels through a shadow created by a dark spot, it appears to be slowing down or speeding. This is a big disadvantage to a player who only has a second to determine the position of the ball before making their next move.
8 Tips for Choosing LED Stadium Lights
Flood lights are the light fixtures that are commonly used in stadiums and sports arenas. These 8 tips ensure you buy the best LED option.
1. Go For High-Quality LED Chips
High-quality LED chips deliver high brightness, luminous efficacy, and color temperature. The malfunction rate of these chips is very low. It is recommended that you get LED stadium lights with high-quality, high efficiency LED chips.
2. High Luminous Efficacy
Luminous efficacy is the major indicator of the performance of a LED bulb. It is calculated as the lumens generated for a single watt of electricity pulled. Luminous efficacy accurately measures how well a bulb produces visible light, which is usually measured in lumens. Thanks to advancements in LED technology, the current luminous efficacy standard is 100 lumens per watt. However, most high-quality LEDs have a higher luminous efficacy than this.
3. The Right Beam Angle
The beam angle usually dictates how the light will be distributed. If the beam angle is wide and the light uniformity is very high, the brightness on the ground will be very low. On the contrary, if the beam angle is very narrow, the light uniformity is low and many spots are created on the ground despite the brightness of the light.
The lights you choose should have the right beam angles in order to balance light uniformity with brightness. Our lighting engineers can carry out a photometric analysis to help you choose lights with the right beam angles.
4. The Lights Must Be Waterproof
The longevity and efficiency of light fixtures is usually dependent on where you install them. Since stadium lights are installed outdoors, they are affected by operational conditions such as water and humidity which can damage them. This is why they must be specially designed for wet locations.
A wet location is any place where water or any form of moisture can flow, drip, or splash on the light fixtures and affect their electrical components. The light fixtures must be UL Listed for Wet Locations. They should have an IP rating of 66. IP66 rated light fixtures work well under the harsh weather conditions that usually affect stadiums and outdoor sports fields.
5. Excellent Heat Dissipation
Heat sinks prevent LED lights from getting damaged because of overheating. Good ones are usually made of pure aluminum which has the best heat conducting rate (238W/mk). The higher the value of the aluminum, the higher its conductivity rate. A good heat dissipation system should provide sufficient air ventilation passage in the lamp’s interior.
There should be space between each single row of LED chips and the structure should be hollow to reduce air resistance. This helps transfer heat from the lamp to the surrounding area. The heat dissipation section should also be large and dense. Aluminum fins can be used to quicken the cooling process.
6. Color Rendering Index
The color rendering index indicates how well colors will be revealed under a certain light source. It defines how a bulb makes an object appear to human eyes. The higher the color rendering index, the better a bulb’s color rendering ability. When it comes to sports lighting, a color rendering index of 80 is required. In sports like basketball, a CRI of 90 and above is preferred.
7. Color Temperature
Most organizations usually specify the minimum allowable color temperature (correlated color temperature) for sports field lighting. For instance, FIFA and FIH require their lights to have a CCT of 4000K and above, the NCAA needs lights with a CCT of 3600K and above, while the NFL uses lights with a color temperature of 5600K and above.
While our eyes adapt very well to light sources with different color temperatures, television and digital cameras do not. They must be adjusted in order to display the colors humans expect to see. This is why it is so important for LED lights in a sports venue to have the proper correlated color temperature. If they don’t, television cameras will display irritating color shifts as they move across the field.
8. Glare Rating
While the glare rate is seldom mentioned, it is very essential in sports lighting. Too much glare may lead to visual discomfort and cause people to squint as they watch or play a game. It may also impair the vision of details and objects. For example, players may be unable to see fast-moving balls. Glare also reduces the brightness of the light in some areas. Our flood lights have advanced lenses that focus the light beam where it is needed and decrease light leakage by 50%.